Stockport Credit Union has relaunched its payroll deduction scheme ahead of National Payroll Week (6-10 September).
In the aftermath of Covid-19, and at a time when many families have struggled to access credit and have been unable to save, Stockport Credit Union is on a mission to help local people achieve financial freedom.
By collaborating with Stockport employers and their payroll departments, the credit union can enhance the important work that they do by providing their workforces with a range of services and products which are intended to support financial wellbeing.
Stockport bus and coach hire business, Belle Vue, was the first to sign up and rolled out the enhanced scheme to their staff over the summer.
Its employees now have access to a salary deduction FSCS protected savings scheme as well as fair and ethical consumer loans with preferential rates, all at no cost to the business. They also have access to online money saving and navigation tools.
Belle Vue Bus and Coach Hire joins 15 Stockport organisations that currently use Stockport Credit Union to assist their staff with their saving and lending needs, including Stockport Council and Stepping Hill Hospital. This means that almost 14,000 Stockport employees already have access to the credit union’s salary deduction scheme to save and borrow.
Forty per cent of signed up employees also use the credit union for loans, helping them to avoid the lure of high interest and potentially unethical payday loans.
Stockport Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial mutual which offers savings and loan products to residents and employees within the SK1-SK8 postcode areas of Stockport. The payroll partnership scheme is available to any business with over 75 employees based with this postcode area.
Unlike high street banks or other lenders, Stockport Credit Union has no shareholders and all profits are invested back into the business to cover operating costs, growth, investment, and member dividends.
Jonathan Moore, chief executive of Stockport Credit Union, said: “We are delighted to have Belle Vue Bus and Coach Hire on board and we want to work in partnership with more local businesses like them so that we can give more people in our community access to financial support in the aftermath of the pandemic. We’re here to help local people enhance their financial position at a time when so many have struggled to access credit or save for the future.
“By signing up to our payroll partnership scheme, Stockport employers can offer their staff access to some fantastic financial products which encourage good savings habits and sensible lending. It also gives people an alternative to unethical and high interest loans.”
Phil Hitchen, managing director of Belle Vue Bus and Coach Hire, said: “We are delighted to be in partnership with Stockport Credit Union to be able to help our team achieve financial support given the difficult time the community has had in the past year with the pandemic.”
Michael Cullen, deputy chief executive of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, an existing payroll partner, said: “We are proud to have offered council employees Stockport Credit Union’s payroll service for a number of years to encourage them to save and borrow responsibly. It is pleasing to see Stockport Credit Union extend their services across the borough to help more Stockport employees achieve finance freedom in the aftermath of Covid-19.”
